Graduate Program Grade Appeal Policy and Process
University Graduate Grade Appeal Procedure
The University Graduate Grade Appeal procedure affords recourse to a student who has evidence or believes that evidence exists to show that an inappropriate course grade has been assigned as a result of clerical error, personal bias, or arbitrary grading.
Excepting the School of Law, the University Graduate Grade Appeal process applies to any student appealing a grade in a graduate-level course.
Procedure for appealing a grade:
All appeal correspondence should be conducted using the Elon email system or official
electronic means.
1. Before initiating the University Graduate Grade Appeal process, students should contact their professor to discuss the evaluation. The professor has the option to change the grade at this stage.
2. If a student wishes to appeal a grade, the student submits the University Graduate Grade Appeal Form to their professor and the program director within seven Elon business days of official posting of the final course grade on the University student information system. If the professor is the program director, the student must also submit the Graduate Grade Appeal Form to the Dean of the school in which the program is located.
3. Within seven Elon business days of receiving the Graduate Grade Appeal Form, the program director [or Dean or Dean’s designee] holds a meeting to discuss the appeal with the student and the professor. At this meeting, the student should identify the grade being appealed and the basis for the appeal. This meeting may be held virtually. The program director [or Dean or Dean’s designee] has the option to change the grade. The program director [or Dean or Dean’s designee] must inform parties of the decision in writing within seven Elon business days.
4. The student has two Elon business days after the decision was transmitted to submit the University Graduate Grade Appeal Form to the Graduate Council Chair. Within seven Elon business days of receiving the University Graduate Grade Appeal Form, the Graduate Council Chair creates a three-person University Graduate Grade Appeal Hearing Committee.
a. This committee will consist of:
i. One member of Graduate Council not from the School or College of the faculty member whose grade decision is being appealed, appointed by the Graduate Council Chair, who chairs the committee
ii. One graduate faculty member appointed by the Dean from the School or College involved in the appeal
iii. One graduate student from the program involved in the appeal, appointed by the Dean
b. Appeal Committee members will recuse themselves from the appeal if they believe they have a conflict of interest.
c. The Graduate Council Chair will inform the Provost’s designee on Graduate Council and appropriate Dean of the appeal committee composition.
d. If a rare circumstance arises in which an appeal committee cannot be formed with the above composition due to conflicts of interest or lack of members, the Graduate Council Chair will consult with the Provost’s designee for Graduate Council and assemble a reasonable substitute committee. This alternative structure will be communicated to the student, faculty member(s), program director, and Dean.
University Graduate Grade Appeal Hearing Procedure
5. Moving expeditiously, the committee reviews the University Graduate Grade Appeal Form, sets a hearing date, and notifies those who need to attend the hearing. The student appealing the grade must be able to attend the meeting or appear virtually. Any witness may appear virtually, at the discretion of the chair.
6. Hearings are confidential and restricted to those Elon faculty or staff directly involved in the appeal. The student and the faculty member(s) may both bring an advisor from the Elon University community (currently enrolled student, current faculty, or current staff member) to the hearing. The advisor may only counsel the student or the faculty member(s) and may not actively participate in or speak during the hearing unless invited to do so by the committee chair. Recognizing that the grade appeal hearing is an in-house procedure, attorneys, other legal counsel, and any other people outside the University community are not permitted in the hearing. Recognizing that appearances by multiple faculty members in the case of a team-taught course may be perceived as either advantaging or disadvantaging the student making the appeal, depending on the circumstances, the chair of the grade appeal hearing committee will determine whether to include one or more than one faculty member from a co-taught course.
7. The hearing committee will review all of the documentation received and then ask the student, faculty member(s) (or representing department chair/program head), and their advisor, if present, to come into the room (or, if unable to be on campus, to join the meeting virtually). The student and faculty member(s) (or representing department chair/program head) may appear at the same time or separately, at the discretion of the chair of the grade appeal committee using a lens of fair consideration of all sides. The student and the faculty member(s) will each be allowed to make statements, and the committee members may ask questions of both parties.
8. After the hearing, the committee discusses the appeal in closed session, makes their decision, then shares this decision with Graduate Council Chair in writing. The decision of the committee is final and not appealable.
9. The Graduate Council Chair sends written notice of the decision to the student, professor(s), program director, Dean, and Provost’s designee for Graduate Council.
10. The Provost’s designee for Graduate Council is responsible for record retention, including:
• the Graduate Grade Appeal Form
• program director or Dean’s decision
• documents associated with the appeal, including copies of student work, emails, or other documents submitted by the student and/or faculty member(s) related to the appeal
• summary of the hearing, including date of the hearing, names of the hearing board members, individuals attending the hearing, summary of the hearing/grade appeal, and the decision of the committee
11. The Dean is responsible for communicating the grade change, if any, to the Registrar.
Exceptions and Timing
Grades (for an entire course, assignment, or unit) given by a professor after the student is found responsible for any academic honor code violation in the course may not be appealed. Grade appeals will not proceed if an academic honor code process outcome is pending for the student in the course. Once the academic honor code process is complete, the graduate grade appeal procedure may proceed. Official procedures of a graduate program or the university, such as Professional Standards reviews or grievances, may supersede the activation of this Grade Appeal process. Questions about a student’s disciplinary status or superseding processes should be directed to the Chair of Graduate Council who will confer with the Provost’s designee for Graduate Council and other relevant university officials for a determination of applicable process.
In situations when steps of an appeal process occur during a part of the calendar when a graduate program is not in session or when an unusual complication arises, the Chair of Graduate Council has discretion to waive timing expectations above. However, reasonable efforts should be made by all parties to complete the grade appeal process in a timely manner.